For some reason, out of the crop of new movies headed to Amazon Prime Video this month, many of them are associated with the 1980s. Not just movies from the Me Decade, although there are certainly a handful of classics from the Reagan era, but also movies that feel like they could have been made in that period – including a creature feature about rampaging dragons and a music-world spoof worthy of the ZAZ team.
There’s also, of course, one of Steven Spielberg’s most powerful recent films and a 90s staple too. Either way, this month is best enjoyed with solid access to a time machine of your choosing (DeLorean not required but obviously encouraged).
Die Hard With a Vengeance
Ho ho ho, “Die Hard” is just as good even if it’s not Christmastime. The John McTiernan-directed classic, which is a landmark action film and easily one of the very best movies of the 1980s, can be enjoyed anytime of the year! Watch “Die Hard” again for its delicious 80s atmosphere, Bruce Willis’ perfectly delivered quips (“Welcome to the party, pal”), and the skill and sophistication that McTiernan and his key collaborators (among them: cinematographer Jan de Bont and composer Michael Kamen) utilized to bring this beloved film to life. (Also it was Alan Rickman’s first film. Talk about making a splash.) It really is just the best. But following closely behind it is the third film in the series, “Die Hard with a Vengeance,” which reunited McTiernan, Willis, and Kamen and added Samuel L. Jackson and Jeremy Irons in pivotal roles. It’s stylistically on the complete opposite end of the spectrum, whereas “Die Hard” was slick and smooth, “… with a Vengeance” is intentionally roughhewn and messy (McTiernan directed the actors to miss their marks, causing the camera operators to have to jostle to keep them in focus). Both are absolutely delightful.
The Fly
Jeff Goldblum has become a truly beloved figure in the past few years, sentiment that grows with each passing year and every new “Jurassic World” installment or Disney+ show where he teaches us about beans (or whatever). But why not go back to a really great Jeff Goldblum performance, like the one he turned in for David Cronenberg’s masterful “The Fly?” Ostensibly a remake of a cornball Vincent Price movie from the 1950s, Cronenberg turned into a melancholy and profound meditation on the fragility of our own body. Goldblum plays a scientist working on a teleportation device whose genes get fused with a housefly’s, leading to mutation and ultimately death. Geena Davis, then Goldblum’s real-life flame, plays the woman who loves him. At 95 minutes, there isn’t an ounce of fat on this thing, and features one of the great oily 80s bad guy performances by John Getz.
Forrest Gump
Yes, it was fun, long ago, to rag on “Forrest Gump” for being a box office titan and a runaway Oscar juggernaut, especially since, the same year it was nominated, more cutting-edge fare like “Pulp Fiction” were also in contention. But Robert Zemeckis’ nostalgia-tinged slice of Americana really is wonderful, with Tom Hanks delivering a deeply affecting performance (as questionable as it might occasionally be), alongside future heavyweight champions like Gary Sinise, Robin Wright, and Haley Joel Osment. Yes, it’s sweet, but it’s also an accomplished pastiche, one that is delivered without an ounce of cynicism (which, if you remember, was very big in the 90s) and with the utmost stylistic and technological flair (remember how cutting-edge the visual effects were?) Take a walk down memory lane with Forrest and the gang.
Lincoln
Steven Spielberg had wanted to direct a movie based on Abraham Lincoln’s life for a very long time (at one point his “Schindler’s List” star Liam Neeson was tapped to play the president). The film he eventually made is much stranger than the Lincoln biopic you probably imagined. Instead, Spielberg took a unique, unexpected approach, covering the last four months of Lincoln’s (now played by Daniel Day-Lewis) life, as he rallied to have the Thirteenth Amendment passed. (This legislation was key to his Emancipation Proclamation.) Thanks to a crackling script by Tony Kushner (based on a Doris Kearns Goodwin book about Lincoln) and lively supporting performances from James Spader, Tommy Lee Jones, Adam Driver and Sally Field, Spielberg turns what could have been a dull story into something electric and vital. Day-Lewis rightfully won the Academy Award, and the film was nominated for many others, including Best Picture and Best Director for Spielberg. In Spielberg’s hands, history really does come alive.
Overboard
One of the funniest, screwiest movies of the 80s, “Overboard” concerns Goldie Hawn as a truly obnoxious, yacht-bound heiress who over screws a local carpenter (Kurt Russell). When she then falls off that yacht (this would be the “overboard” aspect of the movie’s title), she wakes up with amnesia and Russell convinces her that she’s his wife and the father to his gaggle of rambunctious boys. (He’s a widow.) Of course, over the course of the movie the truth comes out and they grow to love each other (Russell and Hawn had been in a relationship since 1983). Featuring hilarious supporting performances by Edward Hermann (as Hawn’s rich husband) and Roddy McDowell, who also produced the movie (as their butler), “Overboard” left a surprisingly large impact. In fact, it’s been remade in multiple countries, including Switzerland, Russia, and South Korea, with a role-reversed remake (with Anna Faris and Eugenio Derbez) opening in 2018. But hey, it’s hard not to go overboard for “Overboard.”
Reign of Fire
One of the rare big budget misfires that you feel like actually should have been a hit, “Reign of Fire” is a would-be summer blockbuster that features Christian Bale, Gerard Butler and Matthew McConaughey battling dragons in post-apocalyptic England. Somehow, it’s even better than it sounds, with whip-smart direction from “X-Files” veteran Rob Bowman (there are a handful of truly amazing set pieces, including one that pits skydivers against dragons), some great, extremely knowing performances (McConaughey as the bloodthirsty Van Zan is particularly memorable). Also, the dragons, brought to life by Disney’s pricey animation studio/visual effects outfit The Secret Lab, are hugely impressive – they are living, breathing creatures that help elevate “Reign of Fire” beyond mere monster movie fare. Disney had high hopes for the movie, including folding the dragons into the never-built Beastly Kingdom expansion of Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Florida. Sadly, the movie failed to make a profit or leave much of an impression (although bits of the set made their way to the Disneyland Paris resort), but it is the kind of movie that seems ripe for reappraisal. It’s never too late to start loving “Reign of Fire.”
RoboCop
Dead or alive, you’re probably watching “RoboCop.” (Wait what?) Paul Verhoeven’s satirical action classic, about a hard-working Detroit cop (played by an appropriately robotic Peter Weller) who, after a grievous injury, is resurrected as a cybernetic law enforcer as part of a takeover of the city by an evil conglomerate, hits just as hard today. Actually, it might be even more prescient, with the billionaires more willing to fly into outer space than fix humanity’s problems on earth, and the increasingly blurry lines between humanity and technology. If you haven’t watched “RoboCop” in a while, you’ll probably be amazed both by how funny the movie is, and just how much ass it kicks. (Perhaps a little too much, as it was initially saddled with an X-rating.) Verhoeven’s “RoboCop” was so good that several sequels and a big-budget remake couldn’t capture the magic of the original. It’s truly lightning in a blood-splattered bottle. Thankfully watching on Amazon Prime means that the second its over, you can watch it again.
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
It’s unfathomable that there were traditional music-world biopics made after “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.” That’s how brilliantly “Walk Hard” dismantles the clichés and trappings of the genre. John C. Reilly plays Dewey Cox, a country music star who accidentally machetes his brother at a young age and grows up to become a phenomenon. As he passes through the decades, he has run-ins with various famous musicians, some of whom are played by equally famous actors and some of whom are played by themselves (for some reason Paul Rudd, Jack Black, Justin Long and Jason Schwartzman play the Beatles). (Everyone has a great sense of humor.) Co-written and produced by Judd Apatow and directed by Jake Kasdan, this was initially seen as a financial disappointment but has become a cult classic in the years since its release. If for some reason you have never been sung the ballad of Dewey Cox, now is your chance.
